RIVERLAND
Cruise among great little riverside towns in your own floating home. Stop for a round of golf at some of the best courses in South Australia; or explore charming pioneer villages and internationally renowned bird sanctuaries before getting down to the serious business of food and wine. There's a good reason why nearly half of South Australia's wine grapes (and 90 per cent of our oranges, stone fruits and nuts) are grown in the Riverland. It's all the sunshine … and it's sure to do you some good.
The Riverland is a couple of hours from Adelaide, and perfectly located for a few days of rest and relaxation on the drive between South Australia and the eastern states. Please all your senses at the Banrock Station Wine and Wetland Centre, near Kingston-on-Murray. The company has rejuvenated the surrounding wetlands to attract birds back into the area, with pelicans, black swans, blue-winged shovelers and rare white-eyed ducks now thriving here. A seven-kilometre boardwalk will lead you right around the wetlands, and afterwards you can take it all in over a wine or two at the cellar door and café.
Known as the engine room of Australia's wine industry, the Riverland has a growing reputation for premium and boutique wines. On the food front, you can taste stone fruits, citrus and almonds at roadside produce stalls throughout the region, or look out for great outlet centres like Berri Direct in Berri.
Paddle a canoe into the backwaters of the Murray at the Loch Luna Game Reserve or Katarapko Creek in the Murray River National Park. They're ideal canoeing spots for novice paddlers and families. And at Chowilla Creek, near Renmark, you can paddle into three states (South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales) in one day.
Along the Murray River, vegetation and woodlands support a diverse array of birds, from doves and cockatoos to kingfishers, honeyeaters, pelicans and parrots. Birds Australia Gluepot Reserve, in the UNESCO-listed Bookmark Biosphere Reserve, is one of the most important sanctuaries for protected birds in South Australia and is dedicated to preserving local eco-systems. Six threatened species and more than 180 other bird varieties also thrive here.
Few regions in Australia can boast five top quality golf courses within 25 minutes of each other. The Riverland’s endless sunshine makes the links not only lush and verdant, but great to play all year round. You'll find excellent courses in Waikerie, Barmera, Berri, Loxton and Renmark.
Quench your thirst at one of South Australia's most quirky historic hotels. Built in 1859, the Overland Corner Hotel was originally an isolated frontier pub, frequented only by cattlemen driving cattle between South Australia and New South Wales. Later it became a vital outpost on the mail run between Adelaide and Sydney. The Overland Corner is still a licensed hotel, but today it's owned by the National Trust and includes a museum, nearby mines and a cemetery with resident ghosts.
Step back in time at the award-winning Loxton Historical Village, with more than 35 fully furnished buildings featuring farm equipment, machinery and household items used by the early settlers. Regular "Village Alive" days allow you to experience life as it was in the early 1900s. Other great historical attractions include Renmark's Olivewood Estate (it was built by the town's founders, the Chaffey brothers, and is now a National Trust museum) and the Cobdogla Irrigation and Steam Museum.
